In author Terri Blackstock’s perfect world, readers would stay awake until the wee hours of the morning just to finish her latest novel. And that simply-can’t-put-it-down quality is exactly what she’s aiming for whenever she’s writing.
These days, Terri has spent countless hours putting pen to paper. Not only did she release Predator, the chilling account of a woman’s quest for justice after her teen sister’s murder by an online stalker, but she immediately went to work on Vicious Cycle, the second offering in the “Intervention” series.
As Terri continues to tackle the many facets of addiction, she wrote from a decidedly different perspective than when she penned Intervention, which released back in September of 2009. “In this book, I deal with a girl who’s a crystal meth addict, but she comes from a family where everyone is addicted. Her mother has been addicted since she was a little girl, and drugs have been in her house as she’s grown up,” Terri shares.
“I wanted to show that not everyone comes from a pristine background, and that we don’t start our lives at the same level. At 15, Jordan gives birth to a baby that her mother wants to trade to baby traffickers in exchange for drug money. I wanted to show the level that people who are in bondage are willing to stoop, in order to finance their habits.”
After Jordan turns to a Christian friend for help, namely Lance Covington from Intervention, her best intentions go seriously awry. “But even then Lance tries to do more than just rescue her baby from these evil people,” Terri continues. “He also tries to rescue Jordan from the generational cycle of addiction, and show her that there’s a better way.”
Through the power of story, Terri hopes to make a difference in the lives of anyone who’s faced—or contemplated the path to—addiction.
“I’ve painted drug abuse in such a negative light that I hope those who’ve never used will avoid it, and that those who are caught in the grips of addiction will be inspired by Jordan’s victory, and realize that with Christ, they too can be free,” Terri shares. “Isaiah 61:1 says, ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.’ Jesus later repeated that Scripture, declaring it His purpose to do just that. Can you imagine that? He can bind up the brokenhearted! Set captives free! I hope Vicious Cycle illustrates that passage in a profound way and has a great impact on my readers.”